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Batman #22 Sees Thomas Wayne's Batman Vs Aquaman And Wonder Woman

Published Tue, 02 May 2017 08:00:51 -0500

Last updated Tue, 02 May 2017 15:30:25 -0500

This week sees Josh Williamson take over the writing on Batman #22 as Tom King throws his hands up at the whole Button crossover thing. As the Flash sees Bruce Wayne meet Thomas Wayne, both in their parallel evolved Batman identities, travelling by dint of the radioactivity on a Watchmen smiley button.

A moment due to be cut short by the impending assault on the Batcave by the forces of Aquaman and Wonder Woman, finding a common enemy.

Tom King, you have our sympathies. The rest of you, you have a comic out tomorrow… here's a preview courtesy of Crave Online.

Oh and previously on Thomas Wayne…

During Flashpoint, an alternate reality version of Thomas Wayne appears as Batman. In this continuity, Thomas turns into a crime-fighting vigilante after he and Martha Wayne witness their son Bruce Wayne murdered by a gunman. When Barry Allen enters the Batcave, Batman attacks Allen, but is surprised to hear Barry call him Bruce, with the revelation that Bruce died years ago allowing Barry to deduce that he is facing Thomas Wayne rather than his son. Allen reveals to the alternate Batman that the timeline has been altered. Batman stops fighting and asks Barry the details of his son's life after his mainstream counterpart's own death. Willing to change history and ready to sacrifice his own life to restore his son's, Batman helps Barry build a device to recreate the accident that gave Barry speed powers.

This iteration of Batman is the subject of the mini-series Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance, written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Eduardo Risso, in a story set in after his first attempt to restore the Flash's powers. Azzarello stated that Wayne does not care about crime outside Gotham City and that he funds his war on crime with his successful casinos.^[9] Batman works with James Gordon, the chief of Gotham's privatized police who appears to be aware of his identity. Oswald Cobbelpot is his security chief, mainly handling the casinos while Batman fights crime. The local judge Harvey Dent is distressed when the judge's twin children are kidnapped by the Joker, threatening Wayne with legal action.^[10]^{[clarification needed]} Gordon calls Batman and tries to convince him that he does not have to fight villains alone. Without Batman's help, Gordon tries to stop the Joker once and for all but is trapped and killed. The Joker is then revealed to be none other than Martha driven insane by grief following their son's murder. Batman can't bring himself to kill the Joker, and so he feels responsible for the Joker's crimes.^[11] After Batman saves one of Dent's children who had accidentally been shot by Gordon during a rescue attempt, Batman resumes pursuing the Joker. During a showdown, Batman reveals his recent discovery that they were supposed to die that night at Crime Alley and how they are alive now. Batman promises the Joker that he will do whatever it takes to bring their son back, even if it costs their lives. The revelations apparently restores Martha's sanity and seemingly reconciles. But when Martha asks what their son turns into after their counterparts' deaths and Batman reveals, Martha hysterically flees from Batman and falls to her death through the same hole that their son once fell into as a child.

After a second attempt successfully restores Barry's powers, Batman works with the Flash to rally a team to oppose Eobard Thawne's changes to history. Batman contacts Cyborg for help in tracking down the government branch "Project: Superman", only to be disappointed at Kal-El's frail appearance. Kal-El's powers manifest after being exposed to sunlight and flies away.^[13] After escaping Project Superman with the help of Element Woman, the Flash's memories change more drastically, forcing Batman to attempt to prevent the speedster's memories from altering. Batman injects the Flash with a drug that slows down electrical activity in the brain. After Hal Jordan's death during an attempt to stop the World War, the Flash elects to try to save this altered world, to which Batman joins the Flash as the group heads to New Themyscira in Batman's plane and are joined by Enchantress. During the final battle with both Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the battle seems to be in their favor until Billy Batson's death and Eobard finally appears. Batman stabs Thawne in the back using an Amazonian sword and learns that altered timeline was actually created by the Flash as part of an attempt to save his own mother. Before acting on this new information, Batman is fatally wounded by a traitorous Enchantress. Before the Flash leaves to try and restore the old world, Batman thanks and gives the Flash a letter to his son, expressing his confidence that Barry will recreate the better world the Flash has spoken of and expressing his regret for what will happen to Barry's mother. Despite Pandora's actions resulting in the Flash's failure of restoring the original continuum, Thomas's will is done regardless as his son is alive and still is Batman in another alternate timeline. Barry gives Thomas's letter to Bruce Wayne and that the timeline could not have been restored without Thomas's help.

His father's letter encourages Bruce Wayne to accept their deaths and move on, as well as encouraging Batman to pursue a closer relationship with his own son, and keeps the letter as a part of the Batcave's display dedicated to his parents' memory.

Now, of course, all change.

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